Akin Gump financial services regulatory counsel Christopher Poon participated in a Q&A column with LexisPSL, titled “Examining the FMLC paper on the Market Abuse Regulation,” an examination and assessment of the background, scope and main findings of the U.K.'s Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) paper concerning the uncertainty as to the financial instruments that fall under the scope of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).

Poon began by giving some background on the FMLC, which he described as being “tasked with identifying and proposing solutions to current and future issues of legal uncertainty or misunderstanding.” Its paper, “Issues of Legal Uncertainty Arising in the Context of the Market Abuse Regulation,” came in response, he said, “to the practical impact on market participants, which the FMLC has understood was occurring as a result of legal uncertainties pertaining to the Market Abuse Regulation.”

The key findings of the FMLC paper, according to Poon, are the acknowledgement of the practical difficulties resulting from various legal uncertainties and the sense that it would be useful “for guidance concerning the scope of the Market Abuse Regulation and its practical application in relation to capital markets transactions outside the EU to be developed.”

As for how lawyers should advise their clients, Poon said practitioners “should be aware of the legal uncertainties present within the Market Abuse Regulation and, until further clarity is provided by ESMA (European Securities and markets Authority) or national regulators, should adopt an approach/interpretation that is reasonable given the situation and the nature of the client.”